Kerala see off Odisha in style, enter Santosh Trophy quarterfinals

Kerala qualified for the quarterfinals of the Santosh Trophy with a convincing 2-0 win over Odisha in the final round at the Deccan Arena in Hyderabad on Thursday.

Biby Thomas's side has three wins in three, having beaten Goa (4-3) and Meghalaya (1-0) earlier. Muhammad Ajsal scored for the third game in a row, with a beautiful left-footed finish in the 5th minute to put Kerala ahead.

The speedy striker outmuscled a pair of Odisha defenders before finishing into the bottom left corner. He then celebrated CR7 style by running toward the corner flag. Naseeb Rahman scored the second goal in the 53rd minute to seal victory. 

Kerala were in total control of the game despite not starting a handful of key players. Nijo Gilbert was named on the bench and was only required for the final 30 minutes, while Gani Ahmed got a rest day. 

Defenders Sanju G and Manoj M hardly put a foot wrong in the match and goalkeeper Hajmal, who was kept on his heels by Meghalaya in the previous game, had a rare comfortable outing. 

Christy Davis controlled the tempo from central midfield, elegantly spraying passes and winning second balls. Mohammed Arshaf was yet again a live wire on the right flank. 

After an hour, Kerala happily sat back, soaking up the pressure. When they broke, it was incisive, a couple of passes and they were soon bearing down on the Odisha goal. Christy even managed to pull off a Zidane turn to get away from the Odisha press. He was unlucky to be stretchered off after a knock. 
Kerala next play Delhi on December 22, with the game set for 7.30 pm kick-off.